Hot-water house-heater.



M. A. WILGOX. HOT WATER HOUSE HEATER. 4 APPLIGATION FILED 001214, 1907.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED OUT. 14, 1907.

, Patented Nov. 30; 1909.

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MARGARET A. WILCOX, OF IiOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

HOT-WATER HOUSE-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

Application filed October 14, 1907. Serial No. 397,438.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARGARET A. Wrnoox, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Hot-Water House-Heater, ofwhich the following is a specification.

An object of this invention is'to provide for householders, novel,cheap, convenient, economical, safe and satisfactory means for heatingthe apartments of a house; the fuel by which the heat is effected beingpreferably oil or gas.

Another object is to provide a compact watercirculating house-heatingsystem adapted for use in country places and elsewhere unprovided withwater-pressure systems; said system being adapted to be made wholly ofpipe, pipe-fittings, and castings, at a factory and set up with aminimum amount of labor by an ordinary plumber.

The invention may be employed in connection with-cooking apparatus andwill be so illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustratethe invention.

Figure 1 is a skeleton perspective view of this newly-invented apparatusinstalled in a house, a fragment of which is shown in solid lines, andother parts in dotted lines. A portion of the flue is broken to exposeparts that would otherwise be hidden. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of aportion of the apparatus on a larger scale, viewed from the inside ofthe house. Fig. 3 is a fragmental cross-section of the refractorypartition, looking to the left from the vertical midline of the dampershown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective detail from theoutside of the house. Fig. 5 is a fragmental sectional detailillustrating the pressure relief-device. p

1 designates a flue which may be built of any suitable material, asreinforced concrete, brick, or the like, and which may be located at anysuitable place as in the outside wall 2 of a building.

3 is a stove structure constructed of any suitable refractory materialor materials, at the base of the flue, and 4 is an oil or gas burner ina combustion chamber or fire-box 4 in said stove structure to normallysupply heat for heating the apartments. 5 of the house, and for heatingan oven and otherparts of a cooker 6 located in one of said apartmentsand forming a part of the stove structure. Such apartment 5 may serve asa kitchen.

7 is a passage between the fire-box 4 and the cooker6 to admit heat andflame if desired, from the fire-box into the cooker.

8 is a Valve or damper for the passage 7 the same being mounted on apivot 9 controlled by a handle 10 and adapted to stand at various anglesto deflect the heat in greater or less volume from the fire-box into thecooker, or to entirely close the opening 7 to prevent the passage ofheat therethrough into the cooker.

11 designates a chamber in the cooker into which the passage 7 opens.

12 is a flue leading from said chamber alongside the main flue 1 toafford afidraft from the chamber 11 to cause the heat to flow from thefire-box into the cooker chamber 11. Said chamber 11 may be providedwith a supplementary gas burner 13.

14 is an insulated oven chamber designed to serve a purpose similar tothat of a fireless cooker chamber. It is arranged alongside the cookerchamber 11 and provided in all of its walls, excepting the wall which ispresented to the chamber 11 with insulating material 15 of considerablethickness, so that the heat from said chamber 11 will be re tained so asto keep the chamber 14 warm.

The inside wall 16 of the fireless cooker chamber may also be providedwith an insulating packing 15', the same being so constructed as toallow the fireless chamber 14 to become heated, but to avoid rapidradiathe flue 1. A plurality of these pipes or tubes are provided. Theportions of the same that correspond to those just enumer- 1 ated, in amanner form an arch in the combustion chamber. Said tube 17 is providedat the top with a hot Water section d extending aslant downwardly in thedirection indicated by the arrows on said section (1 to the right inFigs. 1 and 4, away from the section .0 and leading to one or moreapartments, which are to be heated, as indicated in Fig. 5 1. From thenature of the views this downward slope is not shown in Fig. 4:. Saidsection (Z is preferably led above the ceiling of the apartment to beheated and thence downward through a drop sect-ion e to the heatersection f in an apartment, and thence through a drop 9 to a heatersection it in the lower apartment from thence to the lower section a ofthe tube, thus completing the circuit.

Each of the individual circulating tubes 17 will be of substantially thesame char-. acter, it being understood that the number of slopingsections and drops will depend upon the number of apartments and thenumber of stories to be served by such tube. At the highest point ofeach of the water tubes 17, a pressure relief device is providedcomprising a tee fitting 18, provided on its upper side with a funnel19, opening therethrough to the atmosphere and provided with a seat 20for a ball 21. Said ball is preferably of considerable weight and sizeand may be made of lead, iron, or other suitable metal of sufficientspecific gravity. I regard a weight of about 2 pounds more or less to besatisfactory. The purpose of this weight is to form a closure for thepassage through seat 20 and to allow the escape of the expanded water,and to prevent any danger of bursting the pipes. The surplus watercaused by expansion under the effects .of heat will escape upwardthrough the seat 20 around the ball 21 into the funnel and when the heatsubsides the water from the funnel may seep back into the pipe. The ballmay roll slightly to one side to allow the water to flow up into thefunnel without being lifted bodily.

Preferably the funnel is made of sufficient capacity to hold a body ofwater which will supply the evaporation for considerable time, so thatthe water in the aipe need be replenished only at intervals of aconsiderable time. Said funnel may be made of suflicient size to containtwo quarts more or less of water when the ball is in place.

The cooker 6 may be provided with various conveniences as a broiler 22,having gas burners 23 therein and opening through a door 2 1 into thecooker chamber 11, which is accessible through a door 25 from the insideof the house. By this arrangement the odors and smoke from food beingcooked 7 on the broiler will be carried off through the fine 12.

26 is a heater for water for domestic use, the same may be so located asto be heated by the gas burner 13.

27 designates valves at the lowest points of the tubes 17 respectivelyfor the purpose of drawing OK the water when occasion requires. Eachtube is practically uniform in diameter so that the circulation of waterwill be at uniform speed throughout, thus scouring the interior of thetube and keeping it free from rust or scales.

In practical use the water tubes may be separately filled by pouringwater into the funnel 19, for this purpose the ball 21 may be lifted outof the funnels until the water has risen into the funnels, then theballs may be replaced thus closing the tubes suiliciently to retain thewater under considerable expansion from heat, then the fire at theburner 1 may be started into operation, thereupon the arch will becomeheated and water will be caused to circulate rapidly through the tubes,each of which forms a separate circulating system. By the constructionshown there is no hindrance offered to the water and the same maycirculate with such rapidity that it does not become materially cooledbefore its return to the arch after having passed through the chambersor apartments to be heated.

It is to be understood without illustration that the manner ofintroducing heat into the rooms may be by radiator or register of anyapproved form or pattern, or that the heat may be delivered directly bythe uncovered pipe.

The burner 1 should be of sufiicient size to supply a flame large enoughto completely surround the pipes in the chamber 41, said flame extendingup along the tubes from one to twentyinches.

I claim 1. In a house-heating apparatus, the combination with a fire-boxand fine, of a burner, a plurality of continuous individualwatercirculating tubes, each being independent of the other and completein itself and adapted for circulation of water, said tubes being bentinwardly at their lower ends to slant over the burner within thefire-box and extending upwardly through the fire-box and thencevertically above the burner, through the flue, and bent to extendlaterally outside the flue and carrying upon their upper bent portionsfunnels attached thereto and provided with valve-openings, and sphericalWeights reposing in said funnels and movably engaging saidvalve-openings to close the same.

2. A house-heating apparatus comprising a fine, a fire-box at the bottomof the flue, a tube extending through the flue from bottom to top andextending thence in the form of a loop to form an individual circulatingsystem, said tube reentering the firebox at the bottom and beingpositioned within the fire-box to receive heat, said tube being providedat its uppermost portion with a funnel, and a spherical Weight seated inthe funnel to allow escape of steam pressure from the tube.

3. A house-heating apparatus comprising a flue, a fire box at the bottomof the flue, a plurality of tubes extending through the flue from bottomto top and each being bent above the flue and extending thence in theform of a loop having a downward inclination at all points and eachbeing continuous to form an individual circulating system, said tubereentering the fire-box at the bottom and being bent Within the fire-boxso as to provide a chamber between the tubes in the fire-box, and afluid fuel burner in the space between said bent tubes, the same beingarranged to direct a flame against said tubes and up through the flue,each of said tubes being provided at its uppermost portion with a funneland a ball seated in each funnel to allow escape of steam pressure fromits individual tube, said funnel being arranged to allow the ball toroll to one side instead of being bodily lifted.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 7th day of October, 1907.

MARGARET A. WILCOX.

In presence of JAMES R. TOWNSEND, JULIA TOWNSEND.

